Essay On Supply Chain And Organization Management

Monitoring and controlling the influx and outflow of goods and services, including all processes that transform raw materials into finished commodities, is a key component of supply chain and organization management. By aggressively streamlining the supply of business, which continually revolves around procurement, distribution, operations, and integration of a business, it significantly emphasizes maximizing customer value and attaining a competitive advantage in the market. An effective supply chain and organizational management draw the line on market dominance success, sufficient returns, and satisfying consumer wants while keeping a fluid flow of supply and demand, adding a competitive economic edge. 

 

 

The basic idea usually revolves around the consumer as a building block for organizational ideas.

 

According to supply chain digest, Walmart employs 2.3 million people across 11,700 stores operating under 59 different company names, making it a global retail behemoth with an average inventory value of $32 billion. This fact alone highlights the importance of having a strong supply chain management system. The organization's only guiding philosophy is a dedication to reducing costs in supply chains so that consumers can save money for improved quality of life. Walmart typically outsources the majority of its product needs, which gives them a competitive edge by allowing them to concentrate on jobs and constraints like internal procedures. (Kim, 2017; Wang, 2019). 

 

Similar to how Amazon achieved a competitive edge by using a resource-based perspective, Walmart did so by using its massive corporate assets to give it a further edge in the market. Walmart successfully sources goods from low-wage nations and unskilled laborers. Product delivery was sped up through the simplification of some procedures, which is now considered state-of-the-art due to its lower costs for transportation and inventory procurement. Walmart's management strategy heavily relies on collaboration with its partners and suppliers, which enhances its capacity for planning, forecasting, and product delivery. 

 

For the supply chain system to operate well, it is the job of merchants to deliver items to customers. This distinguishes it from Target in Canada because it is typically done at a cheap cost and as needed through a method known as vendor-managed inventory. Electronic Data Interchange, vendor-managed inventory, and radio frequency identification is used (Tan et al., 2018). Stock management terminology precisely explains Walmart's supply chain management framework. As detailed by Lu in 2018, the new standard entails buying supplies directly from suppliers in order to save distribution expenses as opposed to employing Sam Walton to buy merchandise in bulk and transport it to stores, though efficient. 

 

Vendor Management Inventory, which the manufacturer oversees, was developed by Walmart to modernize its stock management system approach. This technique results in up to 100% order fulfillment and ensures that there is enough stock in every store. This is due to the business's capacity to ensure long-term collaboration and a sizable volume of orders in exchange for demanding lower product costs. With this kind of connection, vendors and suppliers can work together to speed up inventory replenishment. 

 

Similar to other companies, Walmart doesn't use storage facilities during the transportation of its goods (cross-docking vs. warehousing, n.d.); in detail, this practice entails moving goods from one truck to another rather than from a warehouse to a truck, allowing for immediate product distribution on trucks to stores. Delivery, shipping, and storage times are all reduced as a result. Walmart collaborated with IBM and other organizations to address the primary issue associated with food production-more specifically, the issue of food going bad as opposed to goods like clothing and accessories as a result of its diversification into a variety of product industries.

 

According to Tan et al. (2018), blockchain technology allowed for the entirety of data and processes necessary to keep the desired information on items and industrial components. Analytics and monitoring and tracking of food vendors were improved by the integration of innovation and bid data. This was especially helpful for collecting data from client interactions for SKU-based inventory analysis.

 

 
The corporate world is a fiercely competitive arena where service and product quality predominate. Comparatively to traditional company models, the advent of e-commerce was the primary driver of the increased competitive levels. By using creative methods to improve product delivery, Walmart has a competitive edge over Target in Canada. By relying on its supplier networks and customer relationships, Walmart drastically cut transportation costs after addressing the problem of product storage and transit. Customers eventually chose other stores after Target Company encountered delayed deliveries that caused its shelves to empty (Cheng, 2015), demonstrating the dependability and trust placed in Walmart customers and suppliers.

 

Walmart is able to concentrate on other challenging tasks and needs to be aimed to boost business efficiency and effectiveness in order to better stay on top of the competition since they have included over 100,000 suppliers in their supply chain management. It allows them to stay loyal to their mission of offering clients less expensive things for a pleasant lifestyle. This also entails inventory monitoring, which is done by the product suppliers. They can reduce order placement and necessary waiting times by integrating suppliers into their management system.

 

The term "sustainability" refers to environmental, economic, and social objectives that ensure that current generation demands are met while preserving the requirements of future generations and maintaining a balance between the two. Numerous occurrences in Bangladeshi factories raised concerns about sustainability, which prompted a review of supply chain management and the procedures used to choose qualified vendors. Supply chain management models had to be modified to accommodate these unforeseen scenarios. 

 

 

It was a smart step to integrate sustainability into value chains that depended on retailers to recognize and suggest improvements for a better system. This is because those who are involved in suggesting modifications and ideas are typically also in charge of managing customer and product traffic. Additionally, by doing a risk assessment on its suppliers and issuing reports on the advanced company sustainability attained by the company, Walmart may be able to avoid nations with higher risk potential. Consumer knowledge of material origins and labor that may originate in underdeveloped nations that have low wages and unfavorable working conditions is linked to sustainability. Walmart appears to be pursuing the construction of a sustainable supply chain by striving toward internationally recognized standards, as seen by their awareness of what they buy. When Walmart introduced its "responsible sourcing" program, many other well-known shops supported its commitment to environmentally friendly business practices.

 

 
As previously said, Walmart collaborates with its suppliers to operate, saving them from having to make centralized inventory purchases. This was accomplished by integrating suppliers for inventory management into the supply chain. Walmart has also been successful in integrating retail connections for the collecting of real-time sales data and transmission of it to suppliers. This aids indirect inventory management, and there are two key advantages—better demand forecasting and quicker supplier replies. Frequency Identification Tags are also used to track inventory and transportation (Lu, 2018).

 

According to Hella, 2017, using frequency identification tags makes it possible to track products more effectively than with regular bar codes, allowing Walmart to minimize out-of-stock items by a staggering 16 percent (Roberti, 2005).

 

The aforementioned systems aid in inventory control and alert suppliers to items that are running low in certain retailers.

 

 

Manufacturers and suppliers periodically use a company's supply chain management system to connect with customers and promote their goods and services. This is essential because the modern, developed business world views even one customer as a significant component of success. As important as this is for suppliers, the same can be said for manufacturers because reducing overproduction lowers costs and lowers corporate losses, which benefits both retailers and producers. A good example of this is the Dell Company. 

 

 

The Dell Company used to manufacture computers in response to requests from customers, focusing on predetermined specifications and delivering the finished goods. This straightforward supply chain management strategy reduced unnecessary production and operation costs because there were no excess goods in storage.

Improving customer service

 

 

By making sure requests are satisfied, supply chain management is designed to contribute to corporate efficiency. Its purpose is to guarantee customer pleasure, which will strengthen the company's position in the market. This is accomplished by making sure the requested product is supplied and that it is done so within the allotted amount of time. Fostering loyalty and trust enhances the firm brand.

 

The organization ensures that its products and services are of high quality, high reliability, and high durability for consumers by managing its supply chain and organizationally. Markets are large and offer a variety of market mixes for various products, each of which satisfies similar needs but at a different price and quality. A strong product has its origins in the demands and desires of the client; this can be investigated through research and other business processes by utilizing a business supply chain to acquire high-quality raw materials for manufacturing.

 

Walmart uses supply chain management as a helpful tool to actively ensure that it keeps one step ahead of its rivals in the market, as well as to monitor inventories and cut expenses so that it can offer customers the lowest prices.

 

Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of corporate processes with cross-docking and blockchain technology like frequency identification tags. Walmart can concentrate on what is important and develop fresh, improved ideas to help the company stay ahead of the competition by integrating some of the business processes, such as suppliers managing inventories in the retail stores they supply.

 

Given that information on crucial aspects of its management practice that provides it a competitive edge is shared with its suppliers and employees, the text above has critically assessed how Walmart manages emergent issues inside its system. Walmart appears to be heavily dependent on transaction cost economics, resource-based views, sustainability, and supplier relationship management play important roles and can thus be said to be core values of the Walmart business through the definition of challenges the company faces an examination of the company's approaches to solving these problems.

 

 
It was discovered through meticulous examination and analysis how Walmart was able to alter supply chain management during the course of its 20-year existence. The foundation of any successful firm is proper supply chain management, which enables the company to rule the market and keep enough supply in all of its branches. The text above makes it abundantly clear how Walmart has maintained an advantage over its rivals, particularly when compared to Target Canada. 

 

Walmart's supply chain management, innovation, and creativity were skillfully executed to a professional level in order to achieve successful results, while other rivals still struggled with inefficient management techniques. The only area where Target continued to have an advantage involved significant improvements that Target mastered expertly. 

 

Other than Target, it's safe to say that organizations could pick up some tips from Walmart and apply them to their own operations to drastically improve them. This is especially true when it comes to reducing organizational and operational costs like transportation and storage while also revolutionizing their supply to satisfy consumer demands. It's safe to assume that by employing its supply chain management strategies, Walmart was successful in creating a win-win situation for both itself and its customers while annihilating the competition. Walmart managed to hold onto a sizable market share of customers while its rivals shared the remaining portion.

 

BusinessEssay. (2022) ‘Walmart Supply Chain Management’. 12 May. (Accessed: 9 July 2022)

 

 

Cheng, A. (2015) ‘What Walmart got right in Canada, and what Target botched’ Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/what-wal-mart-got-right-in-canada-and-what-target-botched-2015-02-11 (Accessed on 9July 2022).

 

 

Clara, L. (2018)‘Supply chain management case studies,’ Available at : https://www.tradegecko.com/blog/supply-chain-management/incredibly-successful-supply-chain-management-walmart (Accessed: 8 July 2022)

 

 

Heller, F.K (2017) ‘Technological innovation applied to Walmart and Tesco’s supply chain’. [Unpublished Master’s Thesis]. NOVA-School of Business and Economics.

 

 

Mark, R. (2005) ‘EPC reduces out of stock at Walmart’. Available at: https://www.mhlnews.com/technology-automation/article/22033103/walmart-says-rfid-is-reducing-outofstocks-by-16 (Accessed on: 8 July 2022).

 

 

Tomiura, E. (2018) ‘Cross-border outsourcing and boundaries of Japanese firms. Springer. ( Accessed on: 8 July 2022)